The present disclosure is related generally to the field of dental treatment. More particularly, the present disclosure is related to systems, methods, computing device readable media, and devices for attachment structures.
Dental treatments may involve, for instance, restorative and/or orthodontic procedures. Restorative procedures may be designed to implant a dental prosthesis (e.g., a crown, bridge inlay, onlay, veneer, etc.) intraorally in a patient. Orthodontic procedures may include repositioning misaligned teeth and changing bite configurations for improved cosmetic appearance and/or dental function. Orthodontic repositioning can be accomplished, for example, by applying controlled forces to one or more teeth over a period of time.
As an example, orthodontic repositioning may be provided through a dental process that uses positioning dental appliances for realigning teeth. Such appliances may utilize a thin shell of light weight and/or transparent material having resilient properties, referred to as an “aligner,” that generally conforms to a patient's teeth but is slightly out of alignment with a current tooth configuration.
An example of orthodontic repositioning that can occur through a dental process is a process that uses one or more positioning appliances for realigning teeth. Placement of an appliance over the teeth can provide controlled forces in specific locations to gradually move the teeth into a new configuration. Repetition of this process with successive appliances in progressive configurations can move the teeth through a series of intermediate arrangements toward a final desired arrangement.
In some applications, one or more attachments can be used in conjunction with the one or more appliances. Attachments are secured to a patient's teeth and interact with a surface of the dental appliance to provide one or more functions. For example, an attachment can be used as an anchor to hold a portion of the dental appliance in place while other portions move one or more teeth. Attachments can also be used to provide a force to a tooth to move that tooth in a particular direction.
Treatment professionals have access to a number of standard attachment types and these current attachments have one surface that is used to impart a force to move one or more teeth based on interaction of the attachment's surface and a surface on the dental appliance. In some instances, a custom attachment can be created for a particular movement and/or a particular patient geometry. Such movements of teeth are typically associated with a movement prescribed in a treatment plan and are typically selected by a treatment professional based upon the treatment professional's experience with the type of attachment.
Once selected, the attachment is fixed to the patient's tooth. The attachment selected by the treatment professional may provide the force necessary for one particular stage of the treatment plan.
A different attachment would then need to be placed on the patient's tooth at a different stage of the treatment plan to provide a different force. This may result in errors in the placement of the attachments by the treatment professional, increased cost (e.g., in fabricating and using multiple attachments and time spent by the patient and treatment professional), and/or increased risk of damage to the tooth in removal of the multiple attachments. Such issues may also result in providing more, less, or different movement to achieve the desired result than was initially predicted by the treatment professional.